[image-caption title="Miami%20University%E2%80%99s%20Advanced%20GIS%20class%20gathered%20power%20pole%20data%20via%20drones%20and%20equipment%20on%20the%20ground%20as%20part%20of%20a%20semester-long%20project%20with%20Bulter%20Rural%20Electric%20Cooperative.%20(Photo%20By%3A%20Butler%20Rural%20Electric%20Cooperative)%20" description="%20" image="%2Fnews%2FPublishingImages%2FIMG_0870%20gis%20walkers%20butler.jpeg" /]
When Miami University’s Robbyn Abbitt wanted her students to gain real-world experience in their field of geographic information systems, expand their knowledge of the community and learn about an exciting industry, she didn’t need to look farther than her own front yard.
Literally.
Oxford, Ohio-based Butler Rural Electric Cooperative serves her neighborhood, and when her class and the co-op teamed up for a GIS data-gathering mission using drones and actual power poles, the results checked all the boxes.
“Being able to plug these types of projects into an academic curriculum is game changing for the education that we can provide our students,” said Abbitt, associate director of Miami’s Geospatial Analysis Center and GIS coordinator. “But it hinges on local partners, businesses, companies, being willing to partner with us and being willing to put in the extra time.”
Abbitt connected with Joshua Smock, Butler Rural Electric’s GIS and engineering specialist, at a professional event and they soon began developing a semester-long project that would mutually benefit her Advanced GIS class and the co-op, which presently has no drone resources.
Smock, the co-op’s sole global positioning system staffer, instructed the students about the electricity, safety, power poles and what useful data to collect via camera-carrying drones.
The class of 30 then formed three teams—drone piloting, global positioning system and data processing—to provide a final product to the co-op at the end of the 11-week project in May.
[image-caption title="Students%20in%20Miami%20University%E2%80%99s%20Advanced%20GIS%20class%20gained%20practical%20skills%2C%20got%20experience%20in%20project%20management%20and%20learned%20about%20the%20electric%20co-op's%20model%20of%20service.%20(Photo%20By%3A%20Butler%20Rural%20Electric%20Cooperative)" description="%20" image="%2Fnews%2FPublishingImages%2FIMG_0911%20gisdrone%20butler.jpeg" /]
Students used DJI Mavic Mini drones to snap pole-top photos and a DJI Phantom 4 for aerial mapping of their project sites. They were also equipped with high-accuracy GPS and GIS tools to inspect and collect data from 30 to 40 co-op poles and assets in three right-of-way locations: near the local high school, at the co-op’s community solar field and pole yard and in a county park area.
Deliverables included drone footage of poles, crossarms and attached equipment and vegetation not available from on-ground inspections. The students developed mapping applications and dashboards that linked pole data with drone imagery for the co-op. They also crafted and field-tested drone maintenance forms for the school.
Butler Rural Electric is using the project results to identify issues, brief operations staff and prioritize follow-up work, Smock said.
“I was surprised how the students adapted well to challenges and stayed engaged and curious, asking questions all semester,” he said. “They each brought a value that Butler can use from their different investigations and inspections.”
The co-op’s parking lot, solar field and practice poles provided ideal training grounds for the students learning to pilot the drones safely and capture pole tags and other vital information. When it came time to go out in the field, Smock and Abbitt were on hand for guidance.
“Preparing for the field work was a tremendous amount of work,” said Abbitt. “Josh’s willingness to be in constant communication with them was amazing. When we have that, I feel like the students gain so much, not even just from the answers that they're getting, but the fact that they do have an open line of communication and they get to practice communication skills.”
[image-caption title="A%20DJI%20Mavic%20Mini%20drone%20used%20by%20Miami%20University%E2%80%99s%20Advanced%20GIS%20class%20to%20gather%20information%20from%20power%20poles%20in%20a%20project%20with%20Butler%20Rural%20Electric%20Cooperative.%20(Photo%20By%3A%20Butler%20Rural%20Electric%20Cooperative)" description="%20" image="%2Fnews%2FPublishingImages%2FDSC_0010%20drone%20butler.JPG" /]
Although the campus is served by an investor-owned utility, Abbitt lives in Butler’s service territory, and her neighborhood inadvertently became part of the project.
Students were walking along a line near the high school gathering data when they “actually ended up popping out on the road that I live on,” she said. “I had to go and talk to my neighbor to make sure it was okay that we all parked our cars in my neighbor's driveway.”
Overall, she gave the co-op high marks for its dedication to her students gaining an array of professional experience. In addition to new GIS and drone technology skills, they got experience in project management and learned about the electric co-op's model of service, she said.
“The lightbulb goes off for students when they have actually, really, done something that is valuable in the real world, and everything that they've just had to do over the semester translates directly into the real world,” said Abbitt.
“Nobody expected to walk away from Miami with a soft spot for an electric cooperative, but I think they all have a special place in their heart for Butler Rural Electric Cooperative.”
